Masks
by RaeEcho
Summary: Even thinking her name sent chills down his spine. Every time he saw her, which was become more frequent for some reason, he felt like she saw him. Not the happy fake exterior he wore, but the sad depressed kid who missed his mom. T for curse words.


A/N- This idea attacked me. Seriously, it kind of mugged my brain.

I've always felt that Leo loved Piper. Not in a sibling way, but he loved her enough to let her be with Jason. I've read a few stories and have discovered that there are a few people who agree with me on this aspect. However, let me be clear. I am NOT a Piper/Leo, I just like their one-sided thing occasionally. I'm more of a Leo/Khoine, Leo/Thalia, Leo/Drew (Don't ask, just read.), and Leo/Reyna. (and sometimes some other pairings that I won't get into. Hint. Hint. Wink. Wink.) I just felt like doing a weird paring, that's all.

The entire first half of this story was inspired by 'Friend Zone' by Your Favorite Martian. The other half... I have no clue where it came from.

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><p>The gods hated him. Maybe it was just Hera and Aphrodite, but Leo couldn't be sure. He had been called melodramatic concerning the subject, but they didn't know what he knew.<p>

He knew that Hera was partially to blame for this. He was so close to telling Piper that he loved her, but Hera had to throw Jason into their lives. He didn't hate his best friend for it, because it's not like he got a choice. He didn't know that as soon as he was in, Leo was out.

After all, Jason had perfect blonde hair, he was tall, without being freakish, more muscle than most MMA fighters, had talent, and according to Piper, an adorable scar on his lip. He was one of those guys that girls drooled over, and compared to Jason, Leo might as well be invisible. He was just a scrawny street kid from southern Texas. His hair was a curly mess, and he was far form Mr. Perfect. How could he be with a past like his?

He had robbed, cheated, and stole. It was all to stay alive, but that didn't matter. Jason was Jason, and he was Leo. There was no competition. Jason would be the hero, and get the girl. Leo was never meant to have that, he was only the sidekick. Sidekicks didn't get happy endings. They got to be killed off in the sequel or completely forgot about.

Still, no matter how much he wanted to blame Tia Callida for everything, he couldn't. Partially because Leo had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't have mattered if Jason showed up or not. Aphrodite loved her children, and if she thought that she had found the perfect relationship for one of them, she would make it happen, and Leo was far from perfect relationship material.

It didn't matter that he loved her daughter more than anything. It didn't matter that he was reduced to emotional pudding when she was around. He didn't matter.

It seemed to him that Hera was actually watching out for him in the end. She didn't let him tell her. She saved him from another heartbreak, and as much as that hurt, it wasn't the worst part.

What hurt the most was that he was put in the one place that he had tried to avoid since meeting Piper. He was put in the friend zone.

In his mind, it was a crueler fate than anything he could think of. Off the top of his head, he couldn't think of anything he had done to offend Aphrodite that much.

If one was to consult his dilemma, he knew that they would say that he shouldn't be complaining that he got to be Piper's best friend. He should be happy that he could spend time with her, but they didn't think about the bad side of the situation. All being her friend meant was that he got watch as she fell for another, his best friend nonetheless. He got to observe how her eyes lit up when she saw him, or how she acted like a fool around him. The exact way he acted around her.

He got to third-wheel when the three of them hung out, and he got to watch as they looked at each other and to remember that she would never stare at him like that. Apparently, he wasn't good enough to be loved, and he even if he was, the people who tried ended up dying.

So, after almost eight constant months of heart break, he was done. He found himself content with just watching. At least as content as he could be. Maybe watching her be happy was a concellation prize for not being good enough? If it was, he could live with that. It was okay if he was miserable, but her happiness was what mattered. Right?

"You're good." A voice said right next to him, and he felt himself jump at the silence being broken. He refused to turn and look at who was now sitting next to him on the bench, because he already knew. Drew.

Even thinking her name sent chills down his spine. Every time he saw her, which was become more frequent for some reason, he felt like she saw him. Not the happy fake exterior he wore, but the sad depressed kid who missed his mom.

How she did it still evaded him, but his most persistent theory was that she was wearing a mask of her own. Underneath all that make-up was someone just a screwed up as he was. From every nature show he had seen, he knew that creatures of the same species recognized each other. It looked like they were right.

"I don't know what you're mean." He replied in a monotone, subconsciously straightening out of his slouched state. He didn't know why he did it, but every time he saw her, his posture got better.

"You know what, Houston." She snapped, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw her check her reflection using the screen of her iPod.

"No I don't" He insisted, and he tried his best to ignore her nickname for him. How she found out his hometown was beyond him, like most things concerning her were.

"Your mask."

"Well you caught me." He sighed and he resisted the urge to drop his head in his hands. It figures that Drew would be the one who spotted the cracks in his shell.

"I always do." She sang, and for a moment she sounded smug.

"Only because you cheated."

"How so?"

"You're been doing this longer than me." He still didn't turn, as much as he wanted to see the confronted look on her face. He hoped that she didn't think that she could attack him and he wouldn't strike back. She was wearing a mask too, and he would gladly point that out to her.

"It looks like I've slipped up somewhere as well." She muttered. Her voice sounded strange, like she couldn't believe that she made a mistake.

"I'll tell you where, if you tell me." He offered. He needed to know what she knew. He needed to fix his shield, as mush as she needed to do the same.

"No one can be that happy, all the time." She admitted, and since the first time she sat down, he turned to look at her.

"You pointed out your own fault," he explained carefully, starring at her dark blue eyes, "No one can be that big of a bitch, all the time."

Drew gave a harsh laugh, and a small smile lit up her face. It wasn't much, but it was real.

"This doesn't change anything between us." She instructed behind her smile.

"Why would it? We're still the same. You'll still be a bitch and I'll be obnoxious, but if we ever need someone to talk to..." He let his suggestion hang, and let her connect the dots.

"We'll meet here." She said, finishing his sentence, and a silence fell between them. Normally it would've been awkward. There he was sitting with Piper's sister, who she didn't like, planning to start talking to each other about things that they rather keep to themselves. He felt like he was trapped on a strange version of Dr. Phil.

How had they gotten from hating each other to that? They didn't speak that often, only when they met by circumstance, but that was brief. He had only had two real conversations with the former leader of the Aphrodite cabin, and he couldn't understand how he could trust her just like that. When did they become friends? Better than that, when did he learn to trust people?

Questions ranged through his mind like a tornado. Along with them was Drew's voice in little snippets of their few past conversations. Most of them were rude, and usually containing some form of insult, but now that he sat back and thought about her words he could tell that there was something else motivating them other than spite.

There were subtle hints laced throughout the insults. Whether it be a cry for help as she recognized someone like her, or her telling him that he was okay in some twisted way, he didn't know. All he knew was that Drew saw through his happiness just as he saw through her attitude.

"Aren't we a pair?" She asked bitterly, once again interrupting the silence. She seemed to be good at that.

"Yeah, but at least we're interesting. See you around, Princess. " He said quietly and he stood up. He needed to think about this. To him, it was moving way to fast, and he had a hard time picturing Drew differently than the snob she portrayed herself to be. He planned on walking away right then, but an arm shot up and grabbed his wrist.

"Leo?" Drew's voice called, but this time she was different. She was somewhat gentler.

"Yeah?"

"I see the way you look at her."

"Look at who?"

"Piper, you idiot." Drew growled, and Leo bit back a smile. It seemed that he had a talent for ruffling her feathers, as his weirdo older brother, Jake, would say.

"So?"

"She doesn't love you."

"I know." It felt like he was putting salt on a fresh wound to admit, but it wouldn't do him any good to deny it. Moving on had always been his motto, why should he stop because of one girl?

"Then why do you stick beside her?" Drew asked and the grip on his wrist loosened as she stood up. He felt her remove her hand only to replace it on his shoulder.

"For the same reason I'm talking to you."

"Why?"

"Because I always aim for things out of my league." A weak smile broke his serious expression, and he felt Drew grab his shoulder tighter. In one motion, she had spun him around, dropped her hands onto her hips, and changed her expression from soft to normal 'Drew mode.'

"Houston." She scolded.

"Yeah?"

"Not everyone is out of your league." She said with a wink and before he could process what she meant, she was gone.

He still might have been in Piper's friend zone, but he didn't care anymore. He had just pulled a Beckendorf and fallen for the prettiest girl in the Aphrodite cabin, and for once, that girl might like him back.

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><p>AN- Hooray! My quest to make Drew nice-ish has begun!

Please Read & Review! Show my messed up pairing some love!


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